


Sleep Song

by Cheshyr



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: But with a happy ending, Pack Family, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-22
Updated: 2012-07-22
Packaged: 2017-11-10 12:15:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/466156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheshyr/pseuds/Cheshyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is attacked, causing him to fall into a deep sleep, unable to wake up. The pack tries to help, but time is of the essence. Luckily for them, his attacker didn't count on one thing: Stiles talks in his sleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As always, not beta'd, not season two compatible. I do what I waaant.

Stiles was going to shoot something. His father had taught him the fine finesse of wielding a firearm from a very young age and right now, whatever was making that shrill, grating noise right next to his ear at five in the damn morning? Was going to get _shot_. 

It was his phone.

Fumbling to flip the device open, Stiles pushed himself up onto his elbows and rubbed at his eyes, trying to force himself awake enough to be properly threatening. “If lives aren’t in danger I am going to shoot you. In the kneecaps. With a bazooka.”

“Um…”

Stiles groaned, “Scott, do you have any idea what time it is?”

“I know, I know, it’s just… you know how we have a test in econ today?”

“Yes. I am very aware. In fact, I am so aware that I was up until two in the morning last night studying for said test. You know why? Because I was up until eleven o’clock before that researching the effects of recreational drugs on lycanthropy so that Derek can give you, Jackson and Lydia a proper “just say no” lecture but apparently has no internet in his burnt out husk of a house so I got growled at and shoved around until I agreed to do it for him.”

“Stiles-“

“And the night before I was up until three in the morning so that I could play bait for the three werewolf puppies to track in the forest using only your non-dominant senses.”

“Well yeah, but-“

“And you know what? I’ve been doing crap like that for the past _three weeks_. Running around doing all the research you guys are too lazy to do yourselves, and being your target practice slash punching bag, and smuggling Lydia clothes so that she doesn’t ruin hers whenever she wolfs out, and doing exercises with you and Jackson so you can be first line without killing anyone, and still somehow managing to keep up with my own homework and assignments so as to ensure that I don’t wind up secretly saving the world and publicly living in a cardboard box after I fail out of school. _How’s your week been_?”

For almost a full minute, the other line was silent.

“…Um…”

“ _What_ , Scott?!”

The other teen sighed. “I forgot, okay? And I barely even remember what the test is on. Can you please, please, pleeease come to my place and help me study before school?”

Stiles let his hand drop and sighed. He allowed himself a moment to just stare down at his bedspread. Then his head fell back to land with a ‘thud’ against his headboard and he brought the phone back to his ear.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

~

By the end of the day, Stiles felt like a zombie. He wondered it that would be cause for a promotion within the pack. Or, you know, admission into the pack. That had never been made quite clear to him, whether the whole “pack” thing was a werewolves only deal. Or werewolves and werewolf hunters. Or werewolves and girlfriends of werewolves, but if that was the case he felt “best-friends of werewolves” should also apply. Or maybe you just had to be a supernatural creature of some kind. Like a zombie. Stiles tried to remember if he took his Adderall that morning. 

He had almost made it to his jeep when Scott cut him off, suddenly standing in front of him looking far too happy considering he was largely responsible for Stiles’ current state. “Hey man! I think I actually did alright on that test today.”

“Uh-huh…” Stiles waited, looking at his friend expectantly. When all he received was a confused frown, he gave him an exasperated look. “You’re welcome?!”

“Oh,” Scott at least had the good grace to look sheepish, “Right, sorry. Thanks, man.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Stiles sighed and walked around Scott, “I’m going home and going to bed.”

“Wait!” Scott grabbed his arm, halting his escape, “Derek texted me. He says he wants everyone at his place after class.”

“I don’t have any of the stuff he wanted with me-“

“It’s not that. He said he wanted to run some more drills.”

“More?” Stiles whined. “Why do I even need to come to these? All I ever do is be bait and get beat up on and then laughed at like it’s some sort of accomplishment for four super-humans to defeat a teenage human.”

Scott simply shrugged. “He just said be there.”

Stiles threw his arms up in defeat. “Fine. Fine! I’ll go to the stupid meeting, God.” He pulled the door to his jeep open violently. Scott shuffled awkwardly behind him.

“Uh, could I maybe-“

“Get in the damn car.”

~

“Stiles, what the Hell was that?” Derek growled as he pulled the smaller teen off the ground, “You were barely trying, you’re supposed to make it a challenge for them.”

The pack was once again playing a glorified game of hide and seek, with Stiles as bait and Allison shooting arrows as an obstacle. Stiles normally managed to do a good job at throwing the young wolves off his trail and really making them put an effort into it. Tonight was a different story.

“I know, I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I’m just tired, alright? I’ve barely gotten any rest the last few weeks. I’m completely and utterly exhausted. All I want to do is sleep.”

“You can sleep later,” The alpha snapped, unsympathetic, “We’re running it again. This time, do it right.”

Stiles sighed again. He’d been doing that a lot lately. “Yeah, fine.”

Lydia and Jackson snickered as he turned to jog back into the woods, and Allison and Scott weren’t even paying attention to him. 

This time, he made sure not to go in a straight line and then sit down, like he did the first time. He ran in circles, and doubled back, and tried to spread his scent as much as he could while running as fast and far as he could. 

After about fifteen minutes, he finally had to stop. He panted a bit, and hoped that this would be enough to satisfy Derek for the night. He was just getting ready to sit down, when he heard the snap of a branch behind him. Whipping around, he was met with empty air.

“Guys?” He called out hesitantly, “You find me already? I swear I tried to make it more difficult, but there’s only so much I can do.” He waited, but received no response. Furrowing his brow, he glanced around a bit more, thinking that perhaps there really was no one there. 

A gust of wind suddenly came and knocked him off his feet. He grunted as he hit the ground, but forced himself to stand. His eyelids felt heavy. He was so tired, he wanted so badly to just sleep, but every instinct was screaming at him to stay awake. He turned in a circle, when a light, feminine laugh sounded behind him. He spun around, feeling a bit dizzy as he did so. Blinking rapidly, he stared in front of him.

“…Hello?”


	2. Chapter 2

Derek would never admit it, but he was actually beginning to enjoy his pack. At first he had been dreading it. A new alpha with three dysfunctional, newly bitten teenagers, a hunter’s daughter, and an ADHD hyperactive nutcase. And yet here he was, playing the same training game he had played with Laura and their little brothers when they were young, chasing after his human cousins while the adults looked on and laughed, only giving tips and tricks after the kids had tried everything they could think of. Now, he played with Scott who was still unused to his supernatural speed and was constantly tripping and running into things, and Jackson looking everywhere, forgetting that his other senses had been heightened, and Lydia shrieking with laughter as the edge of her borrowed sweatpants was torn by a flying arrow as Allison added an extra challenge. 

They all laughed, and joked, and played and Derek, despite everything he had told himself at the beginning of the previous year, felt as though he had a piece of his family back. 

They had been running around for awhile now, Stiles having done a better job at hiding then the previous round. Finally, Lydia called out, “Hey! I think we’re getting close!” They all followed the girl as she weaved through the trees. They heard her let out a laugh as she arrived at a clearing. “Wow, you really were tired, Stilinski.”

Behind her, the rest of the pack came to a halt and chuckled as she kneeled next to the boy, who was lying on his side in the leaves, his breathing even and his face serene. Lydia shook his shoulder gently, “Come on, Stiles. Wake up, no one here want to have to carry you back.” There was a moment of silence, and Lydia frowned. “Stiles?” She shook him a little harder. “Stiles!”

Immediately, the others tensed behind her. Scott and Derek leapt forward, while Allison and Jackson stood back, looking unsure of what to do with themselves. Meanwhile, the alpha and beta kneeled next to the slumbering figure. “Stiles!”

“Is he hurt?” Scott asked, his voice shaky. Derek and Lydia ran their hands across the boy’s body, searching for blood, or the feel of broken bones. There was nothing. Derek pulled back one of Stiles’ eyelids, but he received no response. 

Scott stood abruptly and started pulling out his phone. “Let’s get him back to your place, I’m calling an ambulance.”

Derek snapped his head around, “What? No!” He replied automatically.

“Why not? He’s not waking up, it could be something serious!”

“Or it could be nothing, he’s not injured anywhere-“

“You don’t know that! What if he has a head injury, or something internal, we’re not doctors we can’t tell just by smelling him!”

Just as Derek was preparing to fire back, Lydia snapped at them, “Hey!” As soon as she had their attention, she glared at them. “This is not in any way productive. Scott is right, we need a professional opinion, but I get why Derek doesn’t want people crawling around his house. Stiles doesn’t seem to be dying, so I say we get him to the hospital ourselves. Alright?”

They nodded reluctantly, and Derek scooped the smaller teen into his arms, giving him one last shake, “Come on, wake up!” but he remained still. Sighing, the pack followed their alpha back to the mansion. Once there, they piled into their respective cars, with Scott taking responsibility for the Jeep, and drove to the hospital. 

~

Stiles blinked, the sunlight streaming through his blinds and landing across his face. He sat up, yawning widely and stretching his arms above his head, his back making a satisfying ‘pop’ sound. He glanced at his room, which seemed messier than usual, with piles of stuff he didn’t remember stacked high against the walls. Shrugging, he ignored it and went downstairs.

A few minutes later, Stiles was fully dressed down in the kitchen, fixing himself a bowl of cereal that he was pretty sure he hadn’t eaten since middle school. He looked around, but the house seemed empty. He shrugged, assuming his father had an early shift. Or a late shift. Either way.

Exiting his home, Stiles had a smile on his face. He felt well rested for the first time since he could remember. He hopped into the jeep, ready to go to school and not even minding for once. As he drove, it felt as though he simply turned a corner and reached the campus. He blinked, surprised at how quickly he had arrived. However, he shook it off, not paying it much mind and simply assuming his mind had wandered. 

The school seemed duller than usual. The colors and noises muted it a way that didn’t seem natural but also didn’t strike Stiles as particularly strange for some reason. Inside the building, he quickly found Scott, who seemed to be waiting for him. “Hey Stiles! Man, you totally save my life helping me study for that test. Thanks a million.”

Stiles blinked and furrowed his brow, thinking about what Scott was telling him. “Um, no problem.” Now that he thought about it, he had helped Scott study for a test. But the memory was hazy, like it was just out of reach… Had they studied the night before? That didn’t seem right, but he had woken up on his own and well rested. Before he could try to figure it out, Allison showed up, waving at Stiles and placing her hand in Scott’s. The trio wandered down the halls, when Stiles noticed something odd.

“Hey guys, what happened to the room numbers?”

Allison and Scott glanced around, observing the blank doors that ran down the hallway that, now that Stiles thought about it, seemed longer than usual. However, the two just shrugged. 

“Weird. By the way, we should get to Derek’s. Don’t want to be late for the meeting.” Allison smiled.

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, don’t want Derek giving me any more crap than usual.” Allison and Scott laughed as they led the way out of the school. Stiles made it halfway to Derek’s house before he realized that he hadn’t gone to class.

But for some reason, he didn’t think anymore about it.

~

The pack was coming in on twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours since they had burst into the emergency room and handed off their friend to doctors and nurses. Twenty-four hours of exams, and MRIs, and CAT scans, and x-rays, and anything and everything the doctors could think of and still finding nothing. Twenty-four hours of watching the teen toss, and turn, and mumble just like he normally would any other night. He wasn’t hurt, he wasn’t sick. Stiles was asleep.

Which was more than they could say for the rest of them. Despite dark rings growing under their eyes, and their bodies swaying, the Beacon Hills werewolves stayed stubbornly awake. They had already gotten chewed out by a panicked and desperate Sheriff Stilinski an hour after they arrived. He had burst in, having been made aware of the situation by Scott on the car ride over. He had screamed at them, bordering on hysterical about what had happened, why had they been in the woods, what did his son get into this time, until one of the nurses had to threaten to throw him out if he didn’t keep his voice down. Scott and Allison had told him as much as they could, only leaving out the bare minimal to keep themselves safe. They told him they had been bored and decided to play hide and seek around the Hale house, and when they finally found Stiles he had been asleep and wouldn’t wake up.

Now, the entire group was piled into Stiles’ room, his father gripping his hand, while the rest stood around looking scared and lost. From his bed, Stiles shifted and mumbled under his breath, “I dn’t wanna go to school ‘nyway.”

Scott snorted softly. “He’s really just asleep…” he whispered. After a brief hesitation, he nudged Derek’s arm and gestured for him to follow him outside. Nodding, the two werewolves exited the room. No one else bothered to follow.

“Derek, do you think maybe… something did this?”

The alpha paused and considered for a moment before responding slowly. “I’m not sure. There are things capable of… things like this, but….” He shook his head in frustration. “There’s no way to be sure.”

“What do you mean?” Scott asked angrily, “The doctors haven’t found anything, so obviously it’s not natural-“

“We don’t know that!” Derek snapped, “Doctors miss things all the time. I’m not disregarding either possibility until we know more.”

“You mean until we know _anything_.” 

“…Yes.”

~

Stiles arrived at the Hale mansion quicker than expected, also. Blinking, he figured maybe he had forgotten to take his Adderall that morning. Actually, now that he thought about it, he almost definitely had. He sighed, and got out of the car. Frowning, he noticed that the house seemed… different. Like is had a fresh coat of paint on it, but they hadn’t done that yet. And everything around him seemed really vibrant. The sky, and the trees, and the clouds all seemed brighter than they should be. Shaking his head, he pushed it out of him mind. The rest of the pack was sitting on the porch, and they smiled as he walked towards them.

“Hey Stiles!” Lydia waved at him, and he waved back.

Derek gave him a small frown, “Do you have the stuff I asked you to research?”

“Um…” Stiles fumbled with his backpack and found, to his surprise, that all his research was there, even though he didn’t remember packing it. However, he was too relieved that he had what the alpha needed to muse too much on it. Instead, he swiftly pulled out the pile of papers and handed them to the older man, smiling widely, “Yup, yes, of course I have the stuff. Geez, Derek, what do you think of me, please I am totally responsible.”

Derek rolled his eyes, and Lydia and Allison giggled behind their hands. Flipping through the papers, Derek gave a small nod of approval. “Looks good. Thanks, Stiles.”

Blinking in confusion, Stiles gaped for a second. “Uh, yeah, your welcome.” That was weird. Derek had never thanked him for anything before. Actually, Scott rarely thanked him, too, and yet he had done so this morning. 

He was pulled from his thought when the pack stood and walked inside, Jackson smiling and beckoning Stiles to follow. He began to do just that when he froze.

_Jackson_ smiled at him? 

Allison stood by the door waiting for him. “Come on, stiles! We can’t start without you!”

“What?” Stiles mumbled to himself as he walked in behind her. Inside, Scott and Allison were being as lovey-dovey as usual, and Jackson and Lydia were discussing something on the couch. 

Jackson glanced at him, “Man, Stiles, those breathing techniques you’ve been showing me have been a serious help. I got through an entire lacrosse match and my eyes didn’t even shift color! You’re the best, dude!”

Stiles gaped, but before he could comment, Lydia spoke up, too. “Yeah, and I forgot to tell you how much I appreciate you getting these clothes for me,” she gestures the sweats she was currently wearing, “it’s been a huge help not having to buy new clothes all the time.”

Stiles glanced around the room, trying to figure out what the Hell was happening, when his eyes fell on Derek, who was standing in the corner smiling at him.

That was the last straw.

“Okay, _what_ is going on?!” Stiles exclaimed.

The pack stared at him blankly, Scott furrowing his brow. “What are you talking about, Stiles?”

“You guys,” He gestures wildly to all of them, “You’re being all, smiley and nice and none of you have insulted me yet-”

“Why would we do that? You’re our friend.” Lydia asked, confusion clear on her face.

Stiles continued, ignoring Lydia because she was clearly making no sense, “-and you guys have actually been thanking me!”

“Oh course we have, Stiles, you’ve been doing so much for us.” Allison assured him.

But Stiles shook his head in denial. “Oh no, I know you guys. This is, this is some kind of prank, right? Is there a camera somewhere?” He turned in every direction, his eyes scanning the room frantically for some sort of answer.

Scott looked at him with trepidation, “Stiles, are you alright?”

“No I’m not alright! If this isn’t a prank then there is something seriously wrong with you guys.”

Derek stepped forward, his eyes wide with concern. “Stiles, there’s nothing wrong with us. We’re just worried about you.”

Stiles stared at the alpha for a few seconds. Then he burst out laughing. “No way, even Derek is being nice to me? I must be…” Stiles froze, memories flashing behind his eyes. Weeks without sleep, helping Scott study early in the morning, running with the pack and feeling so very, very tired… Then everything goes blank.

“Oh my God… am I…” He took another look at the room, suddenly very aware of the vibrant colors he had ignored before, the way the room looked less charred and more put together. He though back on the school, everything gloomy and deadened and how little things seemed to be missing and how he hadn’t even gone to class. He looked at the pack, his eyes wide with disbelief. 

“Am I _dreaming_?!”


	3. Chapter 3

Scott and Derek reentered Stiles’ room just as his father was exiting. He barely spared them a glance as he ducked past them. Scott looked at Allison, who smiled sadly. 

“I convinced him to go and get some coffee and something to eat. He looked like he was about to collapse.”

“So do all of you.” Derek responded. “I know none of us want to leave, but maybe you guys should at least try to get some sleep.”

The teens all exchanged a glance, but it was Lydia who spoke up. “Is that a good idea?” Derek raised an eyebrow, ad she elaborated, “I mean, what if whatever got Stiles…”

The alpha growled. “We don’t _know_ if anything ‘got’ him.” His face softened as he sighed, “And anything that could would have to get pretty close.” He looked around at his pack, and tried to be reassuring. “You guys get some sleep. I’ll keep watch, okay?”

“What about you?” Jackson questioned.

“If it’ll make you feel better, we can rotate. You guys get some sleep now, and after you’re rested, I’ll take my turn.” They reluctantly nodded, and soon they were all settling down, hoping that when they woke up, Stiles would too.

~

“Okay. Okay, okay, okay. I’m just asleep. This should not be that difficult.” Stiles clenched his eyes shut for a few seconds, counting to ten in his head. Then he hesitantly opened one eye, before sighing in exasperation. “Why aren’t I waking up!” He pinched himself for the twelfth time, but to no avail. 

“Stiles, you _are_ awake.” Lydia told him again, her tone taking on a hint of annoyance. 

“Shush, dream-Lydia, you are being no help.” Stile ran his finger through his short hair. Despite his best efforts, he was seriously starting to freak out. He tried as hard as he could to remember what had happened before he woke up in this strange illusion, but every time he tried he came back with nothing. He sighed in frustration and sat down heavily on the armchair in the corner of the room. “Why can’t I remember?”

Hesitating briefly, Allison walked forward and kneeled in front of him. “Well, obviously the memories are there, you just can’t get to them.”

Stiles blinked in surprise. “What do you mean?” 

She shrugged, “Don’t act like the memories are missing, act like you just can’t see them. You’ll start looking at things differently.”

“Wha-… why are you helping me? I thought you guys thought I was crazy?”

“Whether you’re dreaming or not, you just need to figure it out for yourself. I have no problem helping you find answers, because even if we disagree now, the conclusion will be the same.”

“…Dream-Allison, you’re kind of awesome.”

She laughed. “I try. Now come on, think.” 

He did. Stiles thought long and hard, trying to ignore the stares he was receiving from the others in the room. He couldn’t see the memories. They were there, just hidden. Hidden in his head.

Stiles bolted up. “That’s it!” The memories were in his head, and he was dreaming. He suddenly remembered the stacks of boxes that had been in his room when he first woke up here. “I gotta go!”

He ran out of the house, but the pack followed him. “Wait! Stiles, hold on!” Scott called after him. “We want to come with you.”

“What?”

“Maybe we can help.” Lydia chimed in, “If you’re not dreaming, there’s no way we’re leaving you alone. And if you are, well, you’ll probably need our help either way.”

Stiles looked at each of them in turn. Whether they were real or not, they seemed to genuinely want to help. He smiled. “Thank you.” He sighed heavily, “I hope you guys are waiting for me on the outside.” His eyes widened at the thought. “Oh God, have the real you even found me? Am I currently being eaten by rats in the woods?!”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Stiles, if we were with you before this happened, we probably found you. Heightened senses, remember?”

Scott laughed, “Yeah, even if we couldn’t smell you we’d probably hear you. You always talk in your sleep.”

Stiles froze. “Wait, what did you just say?”

“You talk in your sleep.” Scott raised an eyebrow, “You always have, it’s hilarious. I can usually figure out what you’re dreaming just from your half of the conversation. Why?”

For a split second, Stiles is speechless. Maybe… No. There’s no way, it would never work. It _couldn’t_ work! … Could it? I mean, if nothing else there’s no harm in trying, right? His hands clenched at his sides, his eyes widened. Then, he took a deep breath, turned his face to the sky, and screamed.

“YOU-“

~

“-FUCKERS!”

The entire pack, which had previously been in various states of half-consciousness, was immediately alert, Scott startling awake so fast he fell off of his chair. Allison flailed, accidently smacking Lydia in the face and Jackson leapt to his feet with his head turning in every direction to search for danger. Even Derek jerked forward in his seat, only just managing to keep his balance and not tumble to the ground. After a moment of blinking at each other and not finding any threat in the room, they all looked at Stiles…

“Seriously, this is what I get for being friends with you. All of you! I mean mostly Scott but the rest of you are kind of half-sorta-friends-ish by now so you share the blame.”

…Stiles who was still very clearly asleep…

“And no, this is in no way my fault because that would be victim-blaming which is very much frowned upon. Seriously, have you seen those commercials? Australia knows what it’s talking about.”

…Stiles who was talking…

“Regardless, the point is that I feel I should be compensated for all the supernatural crap I put up with because of you guys. Financially compensated! Shit, I wanna retire when I’m twenty-two!”

…Stiles who was _sleep_ -talking. To them.

Scott was the first to spring into action, rushing forward to grip Stiles by his shoulders. “Stiles! Man, can you hear me?”

The slumbering teen sighed, “Okay, now that’s out of my system. Can you guys even hear me? Are you even there?”

Scott felt his heart drop, and when he turned to look at the others they all held identical looks on their faces. Stiles continued, “Well, I’m going to continue in the desperate hope that some luck is actually on my side for once and you guys are getting this. So, what I’ve put together so far: I’m dreaming and can’t wake up… That’s pretty much it so far. My memory is kind of hazy, so I don’t remember what happened before I fell asleep yet, but some creepy dream-shit has been sort of implying that the answers are in my head, so I’ll get on that. Maybe you guys can help me from the outside?”

The Beacon Hills pack exchanged glances, this time their faces filled with hope. Stiles was still there, and this was nothing they couldn’t handle. They looked back at their friend, waiting for more.

“Alright. I’m gonna, go now? I guess? I don’t know if you guys hear everything I say, or only what I say _to_ you, or, you know, if you can even hear me at all. But hey! Optimism!”

After that, Stiles went silent. Derek immediately stood up, commanding the attention of his pack. “Right, okay. We have something to go off of now. We know this isn’t a natural sleep. There’s only a few types of creatures that could pull something like this off, so we’re going to start investigating from the outside and hopefully Stiles can get us some answers, too.” Receiving four nods, he held his hands up as they all started moving at once. “Hold on! We can’t all go. We need a system. We can’t leave Stiles alone, cause he might have vital information that we need to hear.” He thought for a moment. “Here’s what we’re going to do: Two people will stay with Stiles, that way one person can listen and another can relay any messages to the rest of us. Allison and Lydia will take the first shift with Stiles. Scott, Jackson, you two will go with me to the woods where we found Stiles to see if we can’t pick up any scents or other clues. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.” There was no sarcasm in their collective response. They were all dead serious. 

Derek nodded. “Then let’s go.”

They were half-way to the door when Stiles spoke again, his voice slightly groggy with sleep, but still clear and serious.

“And by the way, when I get out of this? We are having a serious discussion about the fact that I realized I was dreaming because you guys were actually being nice to me.”

The entire pack flinched.


	4. Chapter 4

“Stiles, what are we even looking for?” Jackson complained.

“I don’t _know_.” Stiles sighed from where he was kneeling for what had to be the tenth time. Then entire pack was piled into the teenager’s room, rummaging through the stacks of boxes that seemed strangely never ending, looking for some sort of clue as to what had happened. “Just, anything that seems strange or important in some way.”

“Uh, Stiles?” Scott reached into the box he had been examining and pulled out a handful of what looked like some kind of purple slime. “A _lot_ of this stuff seems pretty strange.”

Stiles groaned and let his head fall forward into his hands. He didn’t want to say anything out loud, but going through these boxes was taking its toll on him. Half the stuff held no answers and the other half were little pieces of his life that he’d rather forget, like handfuls of sand he remembered having kicked into his eyes when he was bullied in elementary school, or a photo of the aunt who had slapped him when she babysat him once and he told her he had a crush on a boy in his class the day before his parents came home and Stiles announced he was in love with Lydia. 

A hand fell on his shoulder, and Stiles jerked in surprise, only to find himself staring up at Derek. The alpha jerked his head towards the door, “Come on, let’s get some fresh air.” 

Stiles blinked for a few seconds, but ultimately nodded, stranding to follow the man out of the house. Normally Stiles would be more suspicious about Derek being so nice to him, but this was dream-Derek, and yeah, maybe it was Stiles’ dream for Derek to actually show some concern. As if that didn’t make him feel pathetic.

Once they were outside, Derek looked back at him, “Are you alright?”

Snorting, Stiles rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah. I mean, I’m trapped in a dream world sorting through random memory fragments with no idea if anyone has even found me or can hear me or if I’m going to be stuck here forever but yeah, I’m just peachy.”

Derek let out a huff of laughter, “Okay, I suppose that’s fair.”

“Sorry,” Stiles sighed, “it’s just frustrating.”

“I know, but we’ll figure this out, I promise.” Derek placed his hand on the back of Stiles’ neck, his thumb stroking his skin comfortably. Stiles closed his eyes and allowed himself a moment to relax. Then, he felt himself being pulled closer to Derek, and when he opened his eyes, the werewolf was moving closer and if Stiles was honest, he wanted him closer.

But he pushed him away.

“No. No, no, no, this is not turning into one of _those_ dreams.”

“Stiles-“

“I can’t, alright? I absolutely, cannot do this right now. I’ve had this dream before, and you know how it ends? With me waking up and you hating me. And right now, I can’t deal with that, not on top of everything else, so just… just no, okay?”

Derek blinked at him, his eyes wide and just a little sad. “You’ve dreamed of me before?”

Stiles threw his arms in the air. “ _That’s_ what you got out of that? Fine, okay, yes, I’ve dreamed about you. Fucking fantasized. But that’s all they are and all they’ll ever be. And all they do is get my hopes up and then crush them mercilessly once the sun rises. So yes. I’ve dreamed about you. But lately? They’ve started to feel more like nightmares.” 

And with that, Stiles walked back inside, not even bothering to wait for a response. 

~

“Allison?” Lydia called hesitantly. The huntress looked up from where she had been flipping through a magazine. The last hour or so Stiles had only been mumbling, nothing coherent or directed towards them. Now, Lydia was staring at Stiles, her eyes wide and uncertain.

“Yeah?”

“…Stiles is crying.”


	5. Chapter 5

The three werewolves had almost made it to Derek’s Camaro before they were stopped.

“Scott, hold on!” Turning around, they saw Sheriff Stilinski jogging over to them. “Where are you three off to?” His voice was heavy with suspicion, his eyes scanning all three.

Jackson immediately started backing away, “Um, I’m just gonna, wait over here. I think my phone… rang…uh…” Derek resisted the urge to slap his forehead. Jackson had to be the worst liar he had ever met. So really, it was probably a good thing that he was sprinting to the car while fiddling with his cell. 

Meanwhile, the Sheriff merely rolled his eyes and turned back to Scott. “Well?”

“We were just, uh, going to pick up some school stuff from Danny. Since we all ditched today, you know? Thought we could maybe get some work done while we waited. And, um, Derek offered to give us a ride.”

“I see.” The older man didn’t sound at all convinced. He glanced around the parking lot before sighing and turning back to the kids in front of him. “Look Scott, you’re Stiles’ best friend. And Derek, despite everything I honestly believe you’re a good guy. But I need you both to be straight with me. If you know anything about what happened, you gotta tell me.” Seeing the slightly shocked looks he was given, the Sheriff continued, “A lot of weird stuff has been happening around this town since Derek came back, and it seems like you and Stiles are always at the center of it. Now I’ve looked the other way on a lot of things because my instincts assured me that whatever it was, I was better off not knowing. But now…” He closed his eyes. “My boy wont wake up. And he’s all I got. So please, whatever’s going on, let me help.”

The two boys exchanged glances, taken back by how much the man had picked up on, but Derek let Scott do the talking. “Mr. Stilinski, we know that it’s hard, but you have to trust us. We really… we can’t explain, and you probably wouldn’t believe us if we told you. But we’re doing everything we can, and I promise you that Stiles will be okay.”

The Sheriff looked at the two boys in front of him, and they could see his exhaustion. He looked ten years older. “Alright. I wont push. But I know there’s something, and whatever it is it’s been going on for a while. And when this is all over, I want an explanation, I don’t care how long it takes, I deserve the truth.”

There is a pause, before Derek speaks up. “You’re right.” Scott looked at him in surprise, “We’ll tell you. After Stiles wakes up.”

“Deal. Until then…” The older man gave the boys an earnest look, “is there anything I can do to help?”

The offer comes as a surprise, so it takes Derek a moment to think of a response. “Try and see if you can get Stiles out of the hospital. The doctors said there’s nothing physically wrong with him, so tell them you want to make him comfortable at home or something. Anything so that we don’t have to deal with all the staff.

“I can do that.” He moved as if to walk away, before turning back to the alpha. “You’ll take care of my boy?”

Derek nodded. “Always.”

And with that, they parted ways.

~

“What the Hell?” Derek’s quiet declaration was heard by the whole room. The alpha had returned a few minutes before Stiles, the younger boy taking a few minutes to compose himself in the bathroom before rejoining the pack. Now they had all resumed their previous task of searching through the strange mass of items. Now, Derek was staring down at one box with a furrowed brow.

In his hand was a small purple box, the kind a department store would pack it’s jewelry in. Inside was what appeared to be a cluster of teeth, both animal and possibly human, strung together on a thin silver chain. Some of the teeth appeared to have dried blood on them. 

“Stiles, what’s this? Some of these are werewolf teeth…”

Leaping forward, Stiles snagged the necklace from his hands, looking down at the morbid trinket intently. A memory flashed behind his eyes. Full lips that were split and cracked, a wide smile of glistening teeth, a blouse that might have once been white, now dirty, stained, and torn, and the necklace he now held resting against a bone pale chest.

Stiles blinked rapidly. “This is… whoever did this to me, she was wearing this! Alright, we have a clue!” He cheered excitedly. “Now, who wants to tell me what it means?” He received five blank stares in response. “Seriously? How can none of you know what it means?” 

“Well, if this is a dream, we only know as much as you know.” Allison answered wisely.

“That is completely lame and unhelpful.” Stiles whined. 

“Should we keep looking?” Scott asked, not sounding too thrilled by the idea.

Stiles sighed. “No, we’ll be here forever and probably not find much else.” He frowned. “It is something though. I mean, I remember bits and pieces of what she looks like.” 

Lydia raised her hand, catching his attention, “Maybe you should go back to the last place you remember! I mean, you said you think you were attacked in the woods, right?”

“Yeah,” Stiles nodded, “that could work.” He placed the charm in his pocket, thinking it could come in handy later. “Well, I guess there’s no time like the present. Let’s go.” The group walked downstairs, planning to head to their cars and make their way to the woods by the Hale house. But when Stiles opened the front door to his house, he found that the street and houses surrounding them had been replaced with the wide expanse of trees that made up the Beacon Hills Forest.

Stiles blinked. “Huh.”

~

“Derek, what are we even looking for?” Jackson complained.

“I don’t _know_.” Derek sighed. “Anything that seems out of place. Any strange scents, whatever.” The three werewolves were scouring the area where Stiles had been found, but so far had found nothing. 

They spread out, covering as much ground as they could while still keeping in the general area. After roughly half an hour, their luck finally turned. 

“Derek! Over here!” Scott called out. The alpha was almost immediately by his side. Scott held his hand out to halt him. “Do you smell that?” The older werewolf inhaled deeply. He frowned, and inhaled again. And again. Scott sent him a questioning glance. “Derek?”

“I know this scent…” He inhaled again, brow furrowed. “Where do I know this scent?”

~

“Stiles?” Scott called questioningly. 

“Hush, Scott, can’t you see I’m having flashbacks?” The statement was meant to be sarcastic, but Stiles was being dead serious. Being surrounded by the trees once more, grasping the collection of teeth loosely in his hand, he was experiencing frequent flashes of memory. A wild mop of jet black hair, part curly, part matted, part dreaded from neglect. Pale silver eyes that were almost white with a deep grey outline. Long nails that were yellow and cracked.

But what had _happened_?

~

Derek’s eyes widened with realization.

~

Images flashed in Stiles’ mind.

“Oh…”

~

“Oh no…”

“Derek?” Jackson question hesitantly.

The alpha’s hands unclenched, revealing half formed claws. “It’s Demetra.”


	6. Chapter 6

Stiles remembered. A gust of wind had knocked him off his feet. Once he had regained his footing, he had turned around, his exhaustion making him momentarily dizzy. 

“…Hello?”

There was a rustle of leaves and a low, menacing laugh, and she stepped out of the shadows. She looked to be in her mid twenties, just a bit older than Derek. Her clothes were ragged and tattered, hanging loose on her almost skeletal frame, and her entire appearance was unkempt. Her hair looked like it hadn’t been washed, let alone brushed, in years. Her skin was pale, but dry and dull. Her steel eyes looked bloodshot. She reminded Stiles of a rabid dog.

“Hello, sweetie. What are you doing out here all alone?”

Her voice sent chills through his body, and he instinctively took a step backwards. “Um, I’m not alone. My friends are with me.”

The strange woman took and exaggerated look around before turning her wide-eyes gaze on Stiles. “I don’t see anyone.” 

Another gust of wind blew past, rattling the teeth against her bony chest and creating and wild halo with her hair. She held her hands in front of her, and began chanting.

He was so tired, his reaction time was shot. But even if he had been wide awake there was nothing Stiles could have done. He had just turned around to run when he felt a soft pressure in his skull, like his head had been filled with cotton. Sighing, he felt himself fall to the ground, thinking that at least he would finally get some sleep.

His last thought before succumbing to the darkness, was-

~

“ _Fucking witches_.”

Lydia and Allison both started in their seats, glancing at Stiles and then each other. Allison pulled out her phone.

“Um, we should probably call Derek.”

“Yeah, probably.”

~

“Who the Hell’s Demetra? Old girlfriend of yours?” Jackson asked bluntly, failing to notice the way his alpha’s jaw clenched and eye twitched. 

“No,” He ground out, “but her brother was involved with Laura. And they were both witches.”

“Witches?” Jackson exclaimed.

“’Were’?” Scott inquired.

Derek sighed and told the tale as they began the walk back to his car. “It was after the fire, when we were staying in New York. Laura met Demetra’s brother, Caden, at some bar that tended to attract a lot of supernatural types. After awhile they started dating. We knew they were witches, but they seemed pretty low-key about it, so we figured there wasn’t anything to worry about. But then…” Derek closed his eyes and took a steadying breath, “it’s a long story, but Laura found out that Caden was using children’s blood to perform black magic. A Fountain of Youth type thing. Laura loved kids…” For a moment his voice was soft, a mixture of fondness and sorrow, before hardening again. “All things considered, she probably shouldn’t have killed him, but I certainly don’t blame her. After that, we both ran. I haven’t seen Demetra since.”

“And now… she’s back?” Scott questioned, “But why now? And why attack Stiles?”

“I don’t know and I don’t know.” Derek growled frustratingly. “It’s possible she just couldn’t find me before now. But even so, with a witch, revenge is usually pretty straight forward. Theoretically since Laura killed her brother, Demetra should be trying to kill me. To even the score. I don’t know why she’s deviating from that.”

Before either of his charges could question further, Scott’s phone vibrated in his jeans. He glanced at the screen before flipping it open and activating the speaker. “Allison, what’s up?”

“It’s Stiles, he said he was attacked by a witch.”

“We know.” Derek answered, “It an old acquaintance of mine, I’ll have Scott explain on the way. We’re heading back now, are you still at the hospital?”

“Yeah, but it looks like Stiles’ dad got the doctors to agree to release him, so he’s just finishing filling out some forms and then we’ll be taking him home.”

“Alright, we’ll meet you there and discuss our next move. And Allison?”

“Yeah?”

“Call me if Stiles starts sounding distressed or anything. If Demetra did this, there’s a high possibility that she’s going to use his dream to attack him.” There was silence on the other line. “Allison?”

“After Stiles told us what he found out, he started thrashing around a bit, like he was having a nightmare.”

Derek cursed under his breath and started walking faster. “Keep watching him, and keep me updated.” 

“Derek…” Allison paused, “Will Stiles be okay?”

Finally, the three reached the elder’s car, and immediately jumped in, Derek starting the car before his door even had time to close. “I hope so.”

~

“Witches?” Scott’s voice was painted with disbelief. 

Derek shrugged. “You think werewolves are the only thing out there?”

Stiles tried to wrap his head around the situation. If a witch had done this to him, then how was he supposed to get out? What could he possibly do from within his own mind?

Just as he was starting to feel hopelessness claw at his chest, the forest seemed to grow steadily darker, like the sun was setting as a rapid pace. The air seemed cooler, and a soft breeze created a rustle of leaves. Deep in the darkness, Stiles thought he heard a low growl.

“Guys, did you hear that?” Silence. “Guys?” Turning around, Stiles had to swallow his panic when he found he was suddenly alone. Searching the air around him, the teen looked for the pack that had been there mere moments before. “Hello?” There was another growl, louder this time, and when Stiles turned towards it, he was met with the sight of two glowing red eyes staring at him through the trees. 

“Derek?” He called nervously, backing away slowly. “This isn’t funny man, you’re freaking me out.” The eyes moved closer, until the body was revealed around them. Peter Hale, half wolf and half burned, eyes red and teeth bloody. Stiles felt his breath catch in his chest. 

“You don’t scare me.” He tried to sound brave. “You’re dead. I watched you die. I helped kill you, I helped bury you!” Despite himself, Stiles felt his voice grow slightly hysterical by the end.

Peter simply smiled at him, “Do you want the bite?”

Stiles shivered. “What?”

But the alpha just smiled wider, and lunged. Stiles immediately ran, swerving through the trees, knowing that he would never be able to our run the werewolf. He tried to think. What could he do, what could he possibly do? 

He tripped, landing harshly on the cold ground. Looking down at his hands, he saw they were speckled with blood. They hurt. His eyes widened.

“Oh no…”

He stood and ran faster.

~

Derek and the others arrived at the Stilinski house just as the Sheriff was walking to his car. He looked over at the boys. “I got a call. They need me, otherwise I wouldn’t…”

Scott nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on him.”

The man gave a nod back before entering his vehicle and driving away. Immediately, they went inside and ran upstairs as fast as they could, finding the two girls looking anxiously over Stiles, who was thrashing and breathing heavily.

“He’s been like this for a few minutes.” Lydia explained.

Before anyone could ask any further question, Stiles spoke up, still panting through his words. “Alright, new development in this whole situation. My unnatural sleep? Apparently super unnatural. I fell. It hurts. I can get freaking hurt in my freaking dream. And now Peter Hale is coming after me and while I’ve died in my dreams before, I’m pretty sure this time it’ll be a bit more real.”

Derek cursed long and low under his breath. “I was afraid of this. If she goes after him in his mind, we can’t help him.” He swallowed harshly. “He’s on his own.”

They all looked at Stiles, horrified, knowing there was nothing they could do but hope.

~

Stiles kept running, but the werewolf was always right behind him. Finally, he was so exhausted, he fell and could not get up. Peter Hale leapt over his prone form, landing in front of him and ginning menacingly. Forcing himself to stand, Stiles did what he always did when he was frustrated and out of options. He talked.

“Okay, you know what? No. You are dead. Do you understand that? DEAD. You were killed by your nephew and yes, I did help so I get at least some credit also. You don’t even have any power in the _real_ world. And this? This is _my_ dream, _my_ head, and _my_ world. And I say, YOU LOSE.”

At that moment, a loud roar sounded behind him, and Stiles instinctively ducked just in time for Derek, half wolfed out and red eyes blazing, to leap over his head, landing between the human and his uncle, snarling protectively. Peter snarled back and just like that the two alphas were locked in a heated battle, teeth and claws ripping and shredding at anything they could reach. Stile stood to the side, watching in stunned silence at the awesome show of power between the wolves. 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Derek managed to pin his uncle to the ground and, in an echo of Stiles’ memory, slashed the man’s throat. His eyes dulled, and beneath Derek, his body began to decay and crumble, turning to dust until all traces of the mad man were gone. 

For a moment, all Stiles could do was gape. “Wow…”


	7. Chapter 7

“…I can’t believe that worked.”

The tension visibly drained out of the pack, having all been on edge the past few minutes, when Stiles had gone still and silent. Hearing him speak again reassured them all.

“Okay, new addition to weird dream-world info. Apparently, I have at least some measure of control here. Or if not that, then great timing for dramatic coincidence. Either way, Peter’s dead. Again. So I think I’m alright for now. But I have a sinking feeling that this may not be the only attempt on my life. Please note the lack of surprise in my voice.”

Derek ran his fingers through his hair once Stiles stopped talking. “Okay. We need more information. We’re switching up a bit. I want Jackson, Lydia, and Allison to go to the police station and see if Stilinski can give you any information on any strange crimes happening recently. Think missing people, maimed animals, cult activity, stuff like that. Scott and I will stay here and watch Stiles and use his computer to look up more extensive information on witches.”

The group nodded and immediately set onto their assigned tasks. It was going to be a long weekend.

~  
Derek sighed and exited the page he had been looking at on Stiles’ computer. Stiles had been asleep for almost thirty-eight hours. Now, the teens had to work out how they were going to get out of school if they could not fix this problem in the next day or so. Derek shook his head when he noticed Scott sway in his seat, eyes blinking slowly. “You should get some sleep. I’ll wake you up if anything happens.” 

For a moment, the beta looks like he might object. But he ultimately nods, standing and laying down on the sleeping bag that had been set up on the other side of the room. “Yeah… okay.” He is asleep almost as soon as he closes his eyes.

The werewolf can’t help but shift tensely in his seat. He knows that no one can get to him without going through Derek first, but the sight of any of his pack sleeping still put him on edge and sent a gnawing fear in his stomach that they may not wake, just like Stiles.

Looking at the boy in question, Derek wondered what was going on in his head. He hadn’t spoken in awhile, making the werewolf anxious. Derek shifted again, fidgeting to try to get comfortable. He stayed like that for almost half an hour when he heard Stiles let out a soft sigh, his words slightly slurred and mumbled.

“I’m lonely.”

~

Stiles was sitting on the front porch of his house, knees drawn to his chest and looking up at the sky that was completely black. No stars.

“I mean, you guys are around,” which was true, the pack had reappeared after Derek killed Peter and they were now currently somewhere inside, “but it’s not the same. I know they’re not real and I just…” 

~

“…I wish I knew you guys were there. That I’m not alone.”

Derek swallowed thickly. He didn’t know what to do. He knew Stiles wouldn’t hear him, that had already been proven. Then, Stiles spoke so softly, Derek would not have heard him if he hadn’t been a werewolf. 

“ _Is anybody there_?”

Hesitating briefly, the alpha reached out to take Stiles’ hand in his. For a moment, nothing happened.

“Anyone?”

Desperation curled in the pit of his stomach, and Derek squeezed tighter. It didn’t make sense, he knew, but he still felt himself channeling his energy into the hand in his, as if trying to force a connection, screaming in his head and heart for Stiles to hear him.

“Oh.”

It worked.

~

Stiles let out a huff of relieved laughter as he stared at his hand. He could feel it, the pressure, the warmth. Someone was holding his hand. Closing his eyes, Stiles focused all of his energy into something outside himself, the place he sent all his words.

~

Derek’s eyes widened when he felt Stiles’ hand curl loosely around his.

“Thanks. For being there.”

Smiling, Derek held Stiles’ hand for almost an hour until Scott woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a bit shorter, but I kind of felt it needed a fluffy interlude. ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Jackson, Lydia, and Allison all looked shaken when they returned to the Stilinski house. Scott and Derek both leapt to their feet, Scott immediately taking Allison’s hand in his. “What happened.”

“We talked to the Sheriff. That case he got called on? They…” She took a deep breath, “They found a body. Of a child. They said she, um, had no blood left when they found her.” The huntress blinked back tears. “God, she was only six…” 

Scott wrapped his arms around her, trying to sooth her even as he himself looked like he might be sick. Derek growled. “Do you know where they found her?”

Jackson nodded. “Yeah. It was on the other side of town. Apparently there have been increased reports of vandalism, too. Strange graffiti, weird symbols being carved into the sides of buildings, stuff like that.” He gave Derek a meaningful look. “Sound like our girl?”

Derek nodded. “Yes.” He stalked to the doorway. “Jackson, you and Allison stay here and watch Stiles. Let us know if he says anything else important. If we know the general area where she is, I should be able to find Demetra pretty quick. Magic is exhausting, and she’s performed at least two spells in as many days, so she wont be on top of her game.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Let’s go.”

~

Stiles sighed as he walked down the street, away from his house. The pack walked with him, staying close ever since his encounter with Peter. “So how many more times do you think this chick is going to try to kill me?” He asked, frustrated.

All he received were a few shrugs from those who bothered to pay attention to him anymore. This just made him even more frustrated. “I mean, seriously! What, is she just going to keep throwing monsters at me? I know the rules now, it’s my dream, she can’t hurt me here, right? So what’s the point anymore?”

More shrugs. Stiles groaned. “You know, I swear in my dreams you guys are more talkative…” Walking along the sidewalk, he didn’t even notice the dark figure watching him from across the street, smiling wickedly.

~

When they found her, she was kneeling in a circle of ash, her palms open on her lap and a single candle before her. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling. Derek took great pleasure in the way her smile slipped away when he grabbed her by the back of the neck, gripping hard enough to bruise and throwing her onto the hard concrete floor. He snarled into her ear, eyes flashing red as she flailed and screeched.

Turning to his two pack members, he ordered them, “Go grab a chair and as much rope as you can find.” They instantly obeyed, Lydia dragging a small wooden chair to the center of the room, while Scott found a length of rope coiled on a table full of sharp and menacing looking instruments on the other side of the room. 

Derek quickly sat the shrieking witch down, binding her hands together behind her so tight that her struggling movements almost instantly drew blood. But Derek was right, she was too weak to attempt another spell, even a simple one. She was at their mercy.

~

“Well, everything looks pretty normal. No new attempts on my life or anything. What now?” Stiles’ question was met with silence, and when he turned to look around him, he found he was alone. The teenager groaned. “Oh come on, again? Really?” Looking at the sky in exasperation, he began to make his way back towards his house. As he walked, we looked over his shoulder almost every other step, waiting for the inevitable next attack, while occasionally calling out for various members of his pack to no avail. 

Despite his expectations, he managed to make it back to his house in one piece, even if his friends were still missing. Opening the door cautiously, he warily stepped inside. “Hello? Guys?” There was a clatter in the kitchen, and Stiles followed the noise until he was standing in the doorway. His eyes widened, and his heart almost stopped. 

For a moment, he couldn’t breath.

~

Scott may have hit the woman a bit harder than needed, but Derek didn’t really feel any desire to chastise him. The young werewolf was standing before the witch, growling out questions while Lydia and Derek flipped through the large, leather-bound book that had been on the eerie table against the wall. Luckily, Lydia was apparently familiar with Latin, and was able to translate much of the information. Even more luck was the fact that Demetra, for all that she was insane and powerful, was also not very bright, and had dog-eared the spell she had used on Stiles.

“The spell wasn’t necessarily to trap him in his sleep.” Lydia explained. “This spell is really broad. It looks like it is simply designed to render the target vulnerable, which can manifest itself in different ways.”

Derek frowned. “But Stiles _was_ vulnerable. I mean, he was asleep. So why not kill him right there in the forest?”

“My guess is she must have gotten to him right before we did.” She shrugged, “If she heard us coming, she might have panicked and ran before she could finish the job.” She glanced back at the witch, giving her patented judgmental glare. “She doesn’t seem like the sharpest tool in the shed. Probably didn’t think much of this past the whole ‘revenge’ shtick she’s got going on.”

The alpha nodded in agreement. Demetra had always been impulsive, not one to really think things through. It was her greatest weakness and right now, their greatest advantage.

Walking over to their hostage who was now slightly worse for wear, Derek glared down at her, letting his eyes turn red as he stood before her. “Demetra.”

“Derek…” She grinned mockingly at him, “My how you’ve grown.”

“Cut the crap. Why did you go after Stiles? I’m the one you want.”

She let out a huff of laughter. “I know that Laura is dead.” Derek narrowed his eyes as she continued. “Revenge is about suffering. I wanted her to suffer the loss of a brother just as I did. But now she is gone, and her debt is now yours. And that boy…” She practically purred, “all alone and practically reeking of you. I felt it would be a fair exchange.”

Behind his back, Lydia and Scott exchanged a knowing look, even as Derek growled out a command. “Reverse the spell, Demetra. “

She looked up, blood dripping from her split lip down her chin and she laughed. She sounded deranged. 

“The little boy will die. He will die in his mind and his heart and finally, lastly, you will watch his body rot.”

Scott lunged forward, but Derek grabbed his arm, pulling him back. The alpha glared down at the witch, “You wont be able to kill him. He’ll fight back and he’ll win. You don’t know him like we do.”

This only made her smile grow larger, showing long rows of glistening teeth. “Oh, I think I do. I know how to make him die willingly. I know how to make him _want it_.”

Derek clenched his teeth, fighting the urge to release Scott, to join him in what he was sure would be a very satisfying maiming. But that wouldn’t solve anything, and they still needed her.

Just as he was opening his mouth, to tell her again that she was _wrong_ , Scott’s phone vibrated. For a moment he looked like he was going to ignore it, but Derek shook him, giving him a look to remind him that the others could need something. Grudgingly, the younger wolf pulled out his cell, glancing at the caller ID which identified the caller as Jackson before flipping it open and holding it slightly away from his ear so that the others could listen in. “What?” He ground out.

“How did Stiles’ mom die?”

The three werewolves all exchanged glances, their faces showing shock, and a dull, growing horror they did not yet understand. Derek looked at the witch. She smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

“…Mom?”

Stiles stared, eyes wide and glassy. His mother walked across the kitchen, a concerned frown on her face as she stroked his cheek. “You alright, sweetie? You look a little pale?”

It was just a dream. It was just a dream just a dream just a dream dream dream.

“Yeah… yeah, mom, I’m fine.”

But it felt so real. The softness of her skin, the warmth in her amber eyes, the smell of her perfume, it was all just like he remembered.

Mrs. Stilinski smiled. “Come on, I’ll fix you some lunch.” Stiles nodded dumbly as he allowed her to guide him to the kitchen table and sit him down. “You’re father’s going to be working late tonight, so it’s gonna be just the two of us, alright?

Stiles nodded dumbly, unable to take his eyes off of the woman in front of him. Her long, wavy hair was held back with a plain black headband, her jeans were loose and ratty, paint stains remaining from when they had painted their living room years earlier. 

As he was observing her, Stiles hadn’t even noticed the room start to fill with smoke. His mother flailed slightly, “Oh no, shoot, shoot, shoot!” She exclaimed as she pulled a pan off of the stove and rushed to the sink, throwing it down and turning the water on to put out the small fire she had started. 

She laughed, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, “Maybe I should listen to your father when he tells me I suck at cooking.”

A breathy laugh escaped from Stiles, but no matter how many times he blinked he couldn’t seem to clear his vision, still blurred by tears. “Yeah, that might be a good idea.”

Sighing, the young woman put her hands on her hips, “Well, so much for lunch.” She smiled at her son, “I know! Why don’t we go to that deli in the grocery store? That way I could get some errands done, too.”

Stiles felt the smile slip from his face. “No.”

“Go grab your coat, I think it’s supposed to be cold today.” She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. Following the path of the memory. Stiles just stared and whispered.

“No.”

~

Scott sat in the back seat of Derek’s car with Demetra, whose wrists were still bound, with his claws gripped tight around her throat, preventing her from moving at all. 

Lydia was in the front passenger seat, flipping frantically through the spell look, trying to find something to either undo or reverse the spell trapping Stiles. Derek was driving madly, while Jackson’s voice drifted from Scott’s phone which was sitting on the dashboard.

“He said ‘mom’, and then he just kept saying ‘no’, over and over. We couldn’t figure it out, but then he said something about trying to save her…”

~

Stiles walked to the car behind his mother, his feet dragging and his mind turning desperately. He knew how this ended.

“I can stop this. I can save her, I know I can. I can change this. Yeah, yeah I can save her.”

He got in the car.

~

“Scott, how did Stiles’ mother die?” Derek barked, taking a turn just a little too fast.

“I don’t know,” The younger teen growled, frustration clear in his voice, “he never told me. I met Stiles a year after she died. He got drunk once and said something about it being his fault, but I could never get him to elaborate.”

“Shit,” Derek slammed the steering wheel, “He’s going to get himself killed trying to keep her alive!” Demetra let out a low laugh before she was cut off by Scott tightening his grip. “Jackson, I’m gonna hang up, we need to call the sheriff and find out what we’re dealing with. We’ll be there soon, hopefully with the spell to wake him up.”

“Got it.”

There was a click and the line went silent. Derek grabbed the phone and quickly scanned Scott’s contacts until he found the Sheriff’s number. He then turned the speaker on and threw the device back onto the dashboard.

The phone rang once before being answered, “Scott?”

“We need to know how your wife died.” Derek cut straight to the chase.

“Derek? What the Hell are you-“

“Mr. Stilinski, I’m sorry but you need to trust us just a little longer. Please, we really need to know.” Scott interrupted from the backseat. 

There was a pause, and the werewolves were afraid he wouldn’t answer. Then, the Sheriff's tired voice came through, “She was shot. Robbery gone wrong at the local market. Stiles was with her. The thief was high and had a gun and he shot at Stiles, but his mom jumped in front of him.” They could hear the pain in his voice, “She saved his life, but…”

Derek nodded to himself. “Thank you. We’ll explain later but you’ve been a huge help.”

“Should I come back?”

“No, not yet. We’re handling it.” Before the Sheriff could respond, Derek reached out and ended the call, pushing the gas pedal just a little harder.

The Camero had just turned onto Stiles’ street when Lydia leapt in her seat. “I got it! It’s a vocal spell, all we need is a bit of her-“ she jerked her head at Demetra, whose eyes widened, “blood. Something about the caster releasing the victim, but other than that it doesn’t need any supplies or anything.”

“Good,” Derek swung the car into the driveway. “Do you think you could say it?”

Lydia blinked at him, “But I’m not a witch...”

“Doesn’t matter,” the alpha explained as they all got out of the car. “Everyone has some level of magic in them. Humans have the least, witches have the most. Werewolves fall somewhere in the middle, and if the spell involves Demetra’s blood, that means some of her magic will seep into the spell by default.” 

The young girl nodded, “Then yes. I can do it.”

Nodding, Derek held his hand out to Scott, who was still holding a struggling Demetra. “Give her to me.” She struggled harder, but Scott still managed to pass the dark-haired woman to Derek. “Go inside, I’ll be there soon.” Lydia and Scott exchanged glances, before turning and running inside.

Derek leant down to whisper into the witch’s ear. “You will never hurt him again.”

Even as they were running up the stairs, Lydia and Scott still heard Demetra’s neck snap.


	10. Chapter 10

Minutes later, the entire pack was in Stiles’ room. Derek held a small plastic water bottle, half filled with blood. Lydia pointed to direct him, “Make a circle around Stiles’ bed with the blood.” He did so, and then waited with bated breath as Lydia began reciting the reverse spell from the pages of the book. Old Latin rolled off her tongue almost naturally, the words smooth and clear and if one looked closely the blood circle was almost glowing.

Soon, the spell was complete, the final chant strong and powerful, and for a second it felt as though the room was filled with wind, papers blowing to the ground and their hair flying behind them. They held their breath and stared down at their friend, waiting.

Stiles was still asleep.

~

The drive was slow, and smooth. Stiles didn’t take his eyes off of his mother the entire time, listening to her talk and memorizing every minute detail of her face. It didn’t feel like a dream. Before he knew it, they were pulling into the parking lot of the shopping center. He stared at his mom. It didn’t feel like a dream.

“I can save you.”

~

“Why isn’t it working, _why isn’t it working_?!” Lydia screamed, grasping at her hair in a frenzy.

“It’s his will.” Derek whispered.

Jackson whipped his head towards the alpha, “His what?”

“His will, don’t you get it!” Derek snapped, “Spells are effected by the will of the caster, but also the will of the target. When Stiles was attacked he had been exhausted, dead tired. Remember, he said all he wanted to do was sleep?” They all nodded, their eyes wide and terrified as Derek continued. “We did the reverse spell right, but it’s not working because this time _Stiles doesn’t want to wake up_.”

~

He felt like a little kid again, his hand holding his mom’s tightly, desperately as they walked towards the entrance. He could save her.

~

“NO!” Scott leapt forward, clutching his best friend’s leg in desperation.

~

“STILES!”

Turning, Stiles found himself staring at Scott, who was now standing a few feet away, his eyes wide and frantic. “Stiles, don’t do it.” He pleaded. His voiced sounded different, distorted, echoing around them as if coming from everywhere.

“I’m sorry.” Stiles whispered. “I have to.”

The other teen shook his head furiously. “No. No, you don’t. This isn’t _real_ , Stiles. You can’t save her!”

Stiles turned back to where his mother was waiting, standing by the door beckoning him to follow. His vision blurred and he had to blink back tears. “Yes I can.”

“Stiles please...” Stiles walked into the market behind his mom, the doors shutting behind him with a sense of finality. “Stiles!” He turned around again, and Scott was standing at the doors, one hand on the glass separating them. “ _please_ …” Stiles had to look away.

“We don’t want to lose you.” A soft, feminine voice chimed in, and when Stiles finally brought himself to glance up, Allison was standing beside Scott, her hand resting on the glass beside his. “We care about you so much…”

~

Allison’s hand gripped Stiles’s right knee, her fingers just brushing Scott’s. On the other side of the bed, another hand reach for Stiles left leg…

~

“We need you.” Lydia joined, her palm positioned firmly next to Allison’s, “I know we don’t always know how to show it, but we do. We need you to keep us grounded, and hopeful. To remind us that everything is going to be okay.”

~

A hand gripped Stiles’ ankle…

~

“You’re pack.” Jackson’s deep voice announced. “And we can’t do this without you, we don’t want to.” He placed his hand against the glass. “Come back.”

“Please.”

“Stiles, it’s time to come home.”

“Don’t go.”

Stiles felt his hands shaking, hearing the echoing voices of all his friends, saying all the things he was too afraid to even consider, let alone believe. His eyes stung, but he didn’t want to cry. He looked back, and watched his mother stare into the mini fridge in front of the register, a hand on her chin as she tried to decide what drink to get. The clock ticked mercilessly in the background. Stiles couldn’t look away from her, even as he spoke to the line of figures standing just outside his reach.

“I don’t want her to die…”

“I know.”

The voice was gentler then he had ever heard it, but Stiles still knew who it was even before he turned around. Derek stood in the middle of the pack, both hands braced against the barrier separating them. “Believe me, I know better then anyone…”

~

Derek stood over Stiles, one knee folded on the mattress as he gripped both of the sleeping boy’s shoulders. The pack stared at him with wide eyes, but he didn’t even acknowledge them.

“I know what it’s like to lose someone and wish you could take their place. I know what it’s like to be willing to do anything to get them back, to just see them one last time and tell them everything you never got a chance to.” His voice shook, but he carried on, “I know. I _know_ , Stiles, just like I know that they would not. Want. This. _She_ wouldn’t want this, wouldn’t want you to just give yourself up. She didn’t save you just so you could throw your life away…”

~

“…I know it’s hard. I know it hurts like Hell, but this isn’t real, Stiles, and you can’t save her. Dying here wont change anything. It’s just a dream.”

Stiles blinked, the tears finally making their way down his face, dripping sluggishly off of his chin. “Just…a dream…”

Derek nodded at him through the glass, his eyes gentle and understanding. “Yes. But we’re still here. We’re real and alive and we’re waiting for you. Please….” He had never heard Derek beg before. “Please wake up.”

Standing before them all, Stiles tried to remember what it was like before. Before he met Scott, who became his anchor. Before Allison came and became like a sister. Before Lydia stopped ignoring him and he realized that she was so perfect as his best friend he didn’t need her to be more. Before Jackson stopped trying to hurt him and started getting to know him. Before Derek.

He tried to remember the months after his mother’s death, when his father was grieving and he was left struggling to breath. He tried to remember every nightmare he had following that one fateful day. He remembers always being alone.

But now, he stood with five people who were waiting for him to open the door and let them help him, their hands held out for him to take, to hold. He wasn’t alone anymore. He closed his eyes, and sighed.

“Okay.”

~

The entire pack breathed a collective sigh of relief.

~

The clock struck three, a muffled tune chiming from the old plastic clock hanging above the back door. Stiles jerked his head up. The back door slammed open.

“Okay.”

His mother straightened in surprise, glancing at the large man who had just burst in.

“Okay, I want to wake up now.”

The man looked just like he recalled, blond hair sticking up in every direction, his face wrinkled and unshaven, his eyes bloodshot from too much of something bad. 

There was a gun in his hand.

“EVERYBODY FREEZE!”

“Okay, I’m done, wake up now. Please please please, wake up!” Stiles felt his breathing pick up, his voice grow high pitched and hysterical.

~

Derek could hear the teen’s heart rate rise. He shook his shoulders in a panic.

“STILES!”

~

Turning, Stiles saw Derek pound his palms against the glass, the others appearing frozen in shock, their hands still and firm against the doors. 

Stiles looked back towards the robber, watching as he swung the weapon around mindlessly. His mother still stood by the register.

He sounded like a child as he whispered, “ _I want to wake up now._ ”

Backing towards the exit, he couldn’t turn away, even as the gun was turned on him, just like he remembered. He reached the door and fumbled for the handle. The robber’s hand shook, just like he remembered… 

“Please…”

The door was locked and the thief’s finger slipped… 

He tugged uselessly at the door, trying to escape. “Please, I don’t want to see this again!”

and pulled the trigger. 

Mrs. Stilinski leapt in front of her son, the bullet lodging deep in her breastbone. She fell slowly, leaving a trail of blood drops floating in the air behind her. She hadn’t even hit the ground when Stiles turned and slammed his hands against the glass, his palms lining up almost perfectly with Derek’s as he screamed.

“LET ME WAKE UP!”

~

Stiles bolted straight up, still screaming, and latched himself onto the first thing he found. Derek. He buried his face in the older man’s neck, his fingers digging into his shoulders so hard it was painful, but Derek simply wrapped his arms around him, encasing him firmly and protectively with his body. He could feel the younger teen shaking and sobbing, but he still couldn’t hold in the sigh of relief. Stiles was awake.

Considering everything they knew about Derek, and each other, it should have been more awkward when Scott sat down and hugged Stiles from behind, his arms crossing over Derek’s and resting on his biceps, or when Lydia came and rested her head next to Stiles’ and placed her hand on his thigh, or when Jackson and Allison moved in close, placing their hands gently on the mass of bodies, not even caring who they were touching or comforting. But it wasn’t. It felt completely natural, and they all silently shared the realization that this was what it felt like to be a pack.


	11. Epilogue

Derek didn’t see Stiles for almost two days after he woke up. Less time than Stiles had been asleep, but it still made his gut clench. He didn’t intentionally not see him or anything. In fact, after Stiles’ initial waking, the entire pack had spent the night curled together, none of them willing to let any of the others out of their sight. Then the sheriff had returned and they had all felt that they should give the small family some time alone.

After that, the alpha had been distracted dealing with the body stuffed in the back of his trunk, not to mention the dark objects he had taken from the now deceased witch which also needed to be disposed of lest they fall into the wrong hands. 

Meanwhile, he had been informed by Allison that Scott and Stiles had decided to finally have that talk with the Sheriff together. Derek figured he’d let them, thinking it’d probably go over better with just the two teens instead of the former suspected murderer.

So yeah, two days. Two days before Derek heard Stiles’ jeep approaching his house. By the time he parked, Derek was waiting for him on the porch, keeping his face as neutral as possible as the teen exited his car.

“Shouldn’t you be at school?”

Stiles shrugged. “Probably. I’m only skipping history though, so I think I’ll be fine.” 

The alpha nodded. “How’d it go with your dad?”

“Um, good? I think? I mean, he was already expecting something pretty weird considering the ring of blood in my room. I’m getting new carpet, by the way. But it helped to have Scott there to wolf out as proof and everything. So yeah, he’s in the loop now. Which is nice. Now I wont have to lie to him anymore…”

Derek felt a pang of guilt. He knew how much the past year had put a strain on Stiles’ relationship with his dad, all so that the younger boy could protect Derek. 

Stiles shifted awkwardly before speaking again, “Look I just wanted to say thanks. You know for, well, you know. Everything.”

Derek looked at him curiously. “Did the others fill you in on the whole situation?” 

“Uh, yeah.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What? What for?” Stiles asked incredulously.

“She only attacked you to get to me. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have-“

“Hey, no, don’t do that. Everything turned out fine, and it’s probably better that we took care of that madwoman sooner rather than later. And really, they told me the whole backstory, I certainly hope you don’t regret what happened to her brother either, because it sounds like the world is better off without either of them anyway. And yeah, death always sucks and it sucks more when the living go crazy with revenge, but it wasn’t your fault. Not at all.”

For a moment, all Derek could do was stare. He was glad that Stiles couldn’t hear his heartbeat as he considered whether ‘now or never’ was a valid life philosophy. 

He took a deep breath, “Don’t you wonder why she went after _you_?”

Stiles blinked at him. “Um, it hadn’t really occurred to me, no…”

Derek walked forward, approaching Stiles slowly. When he was close enough, he reached out to cup Stiles’ cheek. The other boy seemed frozen, even as Derek leaned forward and kissed him softly. The werewolf waited expectantly for Stiles to pull away, but after a moment, he started kissing back. When they finally pulled apart, Stiles kept his eyes closed and whispered faintly, almost to himself.

“ _Am I dreaming_?”

Derek shook his head and pulled Stiles to him, embracing him so that the teen could rest his head against his shoulder while Derek buried his nose in his short brown hair. 

“No.” He assured, “This is real.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have issues with endings. I am never satisfied. Bleeeh. Oh well, let me know what you think! And thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Also, (shameless self-advertisement) if you liked this, please check out my other stories as well! If you didn't.... carry on.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so this was supposed to be just a little one-shot, but it just got completely out of hand and I couldn't bring myself to publish it as a single chapter. But in all honesty, this piece is a bit different than what I normally do, in the sense that it's a bit more plot oriented. Not to mention it's certainly the longest story I've done yet and I've never done a multi-chapter fic before. As such, I would absolutely ADORE comments and constructive criticism! Thanks a bunch and hope you enjoy!


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